


Accelerando

by lookatallthemoresigive



Category: Black Canary (Comics), Lois Lane: Fallout - Gwenda Bond
Genre: Battle of the Bands, Case Fic, F/M, Minor Violence, Post-Canon, Punk Rock, Superpowers, inspired by the 2015 black canary run
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:35:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21829084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lookatallthemoresigive/pseuds/lookatallthemoresigive
Summary: THE MOST DANGEROUS BAND IN AMERICA TAKES METROPOLIS- Lois has made it to summer vacation in Metropolis- a first for the army brat. With school out of the way, she wastes no time tackling Scoop's new big story- rising band Black Canary, where the mysterious front woman, D.D., gets into fights at nearly every venue! But the drama on and offstage compares nothing to D.D.'s sonic secret. In order to protect D.D. and Clark, Lois will have to help her pull off a Battle of the Bands Metropolis soon won't forget!
Relationships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane
Comments: 12
Kudos: 12
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Accelerando

**Author's Note:**

  * For [salazarastark (niewanyin)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/niewanyin/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide!

“Okay, first _Scoop_ meeting of the summer is officially called to order, yada yada,” Perry said, dismissively waving his hand. Lois, meanwhile, was trying not to vibrate with excitement. The _Scoop_ had made it through the entire school year! Behind his gruff demeanor, Lois knew he was just as proud as they were the _Scoop_ was so successful. “Pitches, let’s go.”

“I have one, actually,” Maddy said, pushing off from her desk to stand in front of the semicircle assembled in the dingy basement the _Scoop_ called home. “I got us tickets to see the band on my shirt, _Black Canary_.”

“Really?” Lois asked, her jaw nearly dropping. She was the only one who knew that all of Maddy’s shirts were of fake bands she made up. Well, almost all of them, it seemed now.

“Yeah, Maddy showed me some of their songs, they’re really good! Especially, D.D., their lead singer.” James said.

“It’s a punk rock band that recently signed to a major record studio. This is their first tour and EP. And D.D.'s basically our age!”

“ _Scoop_ exclusive with and up and coming band? Fine, it’ll generate some clicks, just find a hook,” Perry said.

“Actually, Black Canary is known as the most dangerous band in America. All of their shows have ended in trouble," Maddy said. "Property damage, rowdy crowds, and D.D. getting into fights. Not to mention that the only thing people know about D.D. are her initials, and that she's as good as a fighter as a singer. And we are going to be the exclusive interview that finds out why.”

“Huh,” Perry said, rubbing his chin. “That’ll work. Try to see if you can get in touch with their management. We have some contacts that might help. Go to the concert, and report back with something interesting. We’ll cover the tickets. Get cracking.” With that, Perry headed to the elevator out of the Morgue and up to the beautiful offices above.

“Maddy, this is _amazing_! I would’ve never found this. Way to go!” Lois said, hugging her.

James squeezed Maddy’s hand, and Devin clapped her on the back.

“Thanks guys,” Maddy said, blushing. “Lois, can you help me do research on the band’s formation? Devin, their sound is pretty killer, can you do a deep dive on that? And James, could you work on using those contacts Perry mentioned?”

“I would be honored, Maddy,” Lois said, grinning. “Let’s go team!”

Lois decided to forgo Taxi Jack for the scenic route back home, which included the not-so-scenic smell of the Metropolis subway in the summer. She unlocked her phone to see a new message from her boyfriend. Though they had been official for months, it still sent a flutter through her chest when she referred to Clark as her _boyfriend._

 **SmallvilleGuy:** Hope you had a good first Scoop meeting of the summer! Nellie and I are happy for you.

Clark had attached a picture. Even though they had now spent time together in real life, Lois’ heart was pounding as she opened it. It as a selfie of him and Neille Byle the Wonder-Cow. Clark was smiling broadly, holding a thumbs up. Smiling did great things to his already great face. And it really was a great face, kind and thoughtful and a strong jaw and—

Her phone dinged with more messages.

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Lois? Are you there?_

Lois felt her face heating up.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Yes, I’m here, sorry! Scoop meeting went well. Maddy had a really great pitch that we’re working on. How much do you know about Black Canary?_

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Is that a bird species? We don’t get your fancy city birds out here in Kansas._

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Actually, most city birds are vengeful rats with wings. But seriously, it’s a new up-and-coming band from Gotham. Apparently they keep getting into fights at all their shows, and nobody knows anything about their new lead singer, even her first name!_

 **SmallvilleGuy:** How cool! I can’t wait to see what you guys find out.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Any fun plans for your second week of summer?_

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Talking with you, of course. Pa fixed up an old camera for me, so I’m going to take some pictures around Smallville. I’ll mail you some!_

 **SkepticGirl1:** _I’d love that._

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Also, remember, we have our Worlds meeting with Alex on Wednesday._

Lois groaned loudly enough that people on the platform turned to look at her. Alexander Luthor had nearly put Clark and The Flying Man in danger and didn’t bat an eye at kids being experimented on in hopes of being contracted out to the US military, but Clark said he seemed lonely, and here they were, talking in a private secure server in _Worlds_ bimonthly.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Sometimes, I wonder if you’re too nice._

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _We both know what it’s like to need friends. Give him a chance. Without him, we would never had met._

It was true. Alex, aka TheInventor, had created _Strange Skies_ , the website where Lois wrote about her encounter about being saved by a flying man. which Clark responded to, and he had even made the secure communication app they were currently using. He also happened to be the son of a multimillionaire. It was complicated.

 **SkepticGirl1:** O _kay, but Alex, if you’re reading our messages like a creep, blink twice!!_

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Lois._

 **SkepticGirl1:** _It’s okay, I can be paranoid for the both of us. Train’s moving, I’m losing signal. Talk to you topside._

* * *

“Home sweet castle,” Lois said as she stood on the turret. It was a Friday night, a couple days later, which meant date night. Of course, having their dates take place in _Worlds War Three_ was not the greatest, but being states away and with his family's paranoia, it was better than nothing. “I’ve done some more research. Did you know Black Canary actually had another lead singer? They mysteriously replaced her with D.D. after they got signed. Apparently the original singer challenged them to a battle of the bands with her new band through an Instagram live and @’ing them a million times, and so now they’re going to have a second show in Metropolis for that.”

“Lois, I’ve done some more research too, and I was wrong. I’ve heard about D.D. before,” Clark said, looking unusually serious. “There’s a post about her on _Strange Skies_.”

“What? Why? How?”

“There was this post on _Strange Skies_ about a Gotham singer that was harassed by some creeps after a gig. The video's dark and far away, but one of the shapes does kind of look like her, and it sounds like some sort of scream on the level of a sonic weapon. The poster described himself as feeling dizzy after, and he wasn’t close. Lois, I’m not sure what kind of situation you’re walking into here.”

“If she has powers, then that explains the chaos that’s been happening this tour. Somebody’s trying to smoke her out. She needs our help. Simple as that,” Lois said.

“If only,” Clark said, readjusting his glasses. “I know I there's no way I can talk you out of this so, just, be careful.”

“I will. How about we table this for after date night?”

“Deal.”

Kissing in a real-sim holoset game wasn’t nearly as good as the real thing, but under the circumstances, it worked well enough for them.

* * *

The soft, short buzzing sound over the clamor of barnyard life would be impossible for any ordinary human to hear. Luckily for Clark Kent, smitten teenager, he was neither ordinary nor human. He wiped his hands on his pants and leapt up to the loft in a single bound.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _On the bus to the concert, I’m meeting everyone there. James said the band will talk us after the show._

He settled in among the haystack and pulled out a photo from his breast pocket. Clark smiled. Lois would call him a supreme sap if she knew he always carried a photo of the two of them, but it felt like a good luck charm, an anchor. Even though Lois' quick thinking got her terrifying army general father to back off, his parents were increasingly concerned about him being discovered. They were probably right.

The picture made him feel safe. He thumbed at it. It was taken on his last day in Metropolis. While Ma and Pa checked out of their hotel, he visited the Scoop one last time. In the picture he and Lois are standing outside the Daily Planet, holding hands and smiling at each other.

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _Have fun. Be safe._

 **SkepticGirl1:** _I'll be smart. The thing I’m most in danger of is stealing Maddy’s punk rocker look!_

Radio Theater was a converted old '40s cinema, with a sense of grandeur that made the small concert venue seem far bigger than it was. Black Canary had a local band open for them, but it was clear everyone was tensely anticipating the main performance.

Then, the lights dimmed until Lois could barely see the stage. A girl with platinum blonde hair came out, and she was incredible. Fearless. Even though D.D. seemed to be still getting used performing onstage, Black Canary had the “it” factor. Lois could see why, despite the danger, so many fans were jammed into the theater, some singing along to all of the songs.

Black Canary got to their encore performance, and it seemed like this night might go without a hitch, until some jerk started harassing a girl. D.D. didn’t like that, and things quickly spiraled out of control.

Lois was ready to rip out her hair. After helping to evacuate the crowd and then with cleanup (turns out bar counters are _not_ as sturdy as they look), the band agreed to still be interviewed. It, however, proved to be challenging.

The band's manager, Healthcliff, only gave Lois the generic, obviously coached answers to their questions while sweating like he was hiding a tri-state gambling ring in the tour bus.

Devin geeked out with Paloma (the band's keyboardist and sound mixer) and Lord Bryon (the heart, soul, and drums of the band, according to Maddy) over the band's sound, but they both shut down when he started asking more hard-hitting questions.

Maddy was having similar luck interviewing D.D.

And James? 

"So, Ditto, you're the guitarist, correct? Can you tell us more about your role with _Black_ _Canary_?" James asked the quiet guitarist. Ditto looked closer to ten than twenty, contrary to what Heathcliff insisted. 

True to form, Ditto remained silent.

"We're getting nowhere," Lois muttered to herself, then stormed up to Maddy, who was still attempting to interview D.D.

"Mind if I steal your dance partner?"

"Be my guest," Maddy said. It was clear getting nowhere had rubbed the shine off interviewing her music hero. 

Up close, she could see how exhausted D.D. was. Her fishnets were torn, and there was a bruise developing on her leg. 

“D.D., I need to talk to you."

"As I told your colleague, that creep will be fine," D.D. said. "He verbally threatened that poor girl, and me, when I called him out. He—"

"No, about something else. In private,” Lois said.

“That wasn’t in the agreem—”

“Off the record. Just give me five minutes, okay?”

D.D. exchanged glances with Bryon and then Heathcliff. “Fine. Follow me.” She lead Lois through the confusing array of the backstage to the dressing room that looked more like a glorified storage closet. “You have one minute. Make it count.” She crossed her arms.

“A couple of years ago, I was driving late at night with my dad in Kansas. It was the middle of nowhere, and as we got out to investigate something, there was a rockslide. Boulders hurtling towards us. But then, something incredible happened. A flying man saved us. Moved us out of danger faster than you can blink. So I became a believer in the extraordinary. I have risked my life, my friendships, and my reputation as a reporter to protect him, because I know there are people out there that would hunt him down and take him away. And the fact that you haven’t scoffed at any of this confirms exactly what I’ve suspected. A secret for a secret. The thing is, I think you have abilities and you didn’t do a good job of hiding it until it was too late. I’m here to help you, because if they find you, then they'll keep looking for him. I suspect I’m not the only one who knows your secret. And that they’re trying to draw you out. Can you take a chance and trust me?”

“Wow, that was actually under a minute,” D.D. said. She looked up and pushed her hair back. “Fine, okay. Screw it. You’re right. I’m running out of options here. Your friends, can I trust them?”

“Yes,” Lois said without hesitation.

“Good. Let’s go back.”

“Everyone, turn off your phone and lock the door,” D.D said as they walked back into the green room.

Maddy raised an eyebrow at Lois, who shrugged.

“Dinah, what’s going on?” Bryon said, crossing her arms as Heathcliff dutifully shut the door.

“I’m about to do something really stupid, and off the record,” she looked meaningfully at the _Scoop_ journalists. “Cover your ears.”

They did, and Dinah screamed. It was beyond the sound a normal human could make, and the vibrations passing over her made Lois feel slightly nauseous. Lois looked at Dinah in awe, mouth agape.

“That’s the reason this tour has been such a disaster,” Dinah said, sliding down onto the couch.

“The whole time, you could do this? The whole time? Dinah, the notes you could hit!” Lord Bryon said.

“Too high of a frequency would really mess with my mix,” Paloma, muttered.

“How long have you had this ability? Did an ethically bankrupt mad scientist experiment on you?” Devin asked.

“Did you get dropped in a vat of radioactive waste?” James said.

“Please tell me a canary bit you,” Maddy said.

“My backstory is off the table,” Dinah said. “What I will say is I’ve had a feeling for a while now this tour is being used to find me. By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. Lord Bryon, Palmona, Ditto. You are amazing at what you do and deserve to sell out stadiums. I’m sorry that I jeopardized that. But if you'll still have me, I’m willing to fight for this tour, for this band.”

“Well,” Bryon said, considering. “Whoever is behind this isn’t going to stop until they hear your cry.”

“No matter if people get hurt,” James said, crossing his arms.

“So, what do we do, have you start wailing at the show tomorrow?” Heathcliff said.

“Actually, yes,” Lois said, an idea beginning to form. “You’re going to show people your power tomorrow. And then show that it’s fake.”

“Sounds like that’ll need some technical expertise,” Palmona said.

“I can help! I’m good with computers,” Devin said.

“You’re going to need people in the crowd to deal with the troublemakers. We can help with that,” Maddy said.

Dinah smiled for the first time since Lois had met her. “Well, we have less than 24 hours to pull of the best magic trick this city has ever seen. Let’s get cracking.”

* * *

The crowd was twice as big as the night before. Lois felt her heart beating out of her chest. Is this what stage fright felt like? She stared at her lockscreen- a picture of her and Clark standing outside at the _Planet_ right before he left- and was about to unlock it when the lights dimmed..

The rival band, _Bo M_ , went first. Bo Maeve, Black Canary’s former lead singer, was a talented dancer with far more stage presence, but it was clear Dinah had the better voice. The crowd was calm, which they had expected.

Then Dinah came out belting.

The crowd went wild. As she made it to the stage, the rest of the band kicked in. With all the cards on the table, Black Canary was performing better than Lois had ever heard them. Lois felt her heart swelling with pride, until she noticed a shifty guy next to her about to throw a soda can at the stage. She snatched the can out of his hand. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you to recycle? Get out of here before I call security.”

He muttered something and left. From the texts she’d been receiving from her friends, they’d been able to diffuse similar situations, or called security.

“Metropolis, thank you for these two incredible shows. Now we have a treat for you,” Dinah said before her last song. “It’s something I’ve been cooking up for some time now. Get ready to hear the Black Canary scream!”

Dinah pulled a spherical device out of her motorcycle jacket and pressed it. An inhuman cry that sounded like a digital recreation of Dinah’s imminated from it, pulsating with a strange alien beauty. She used it as a metronome for their hit song, _Fish out of Water_. Lord Bryon and Dinah had spent a few of their precious hours adjusting the song to account for the new addition, and judging the sound and length of the applause as they left the stage, it was worth it.

She pulled out her phone.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _It worked!!_

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _So proud of you._

Before she could respond back, she was pulled into a celebratory group hug.

“Let’s get Denny’s after this, pancakes on James!” Devin said, and they all laughed.

* * *

**SmallvilleGuy:** _I just read the article, great job._

 **SkepticGirl1:** _It was all Maddy. The interview about the device was her idea. I admit, I was a little jealous at first she found such a great story, but she did a lot of hard work and it turned out really well. Maybe it’s okay to be on the sidelines sometimes. But only sometimes._

“No phones at the table, Clark,” Ma admonished as she set down breakfast.

“Look at his face,” Pa said over the newspaper. “He’s clearly phoning Lois, who is practically a member of the family at this point. Say hi for us, Clark.”

“ _Pa_ ,” Clark said, running his hand through his hair in embarrassment.

 **SmallvilleGuy:** _You’ll never be on the sidelines for long, Lois. Also, my parents say hi._

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Give them my love. Gotta go, I have to get started working some leads for my next story. I think there might be a gambling ring out of the abandoned Blockbuster near Little Bohemia._

“She says hi,” Clark said as he dug into the eggs with supermetabolism abandon.

“Are you going to tell her?” Ma asked.

Ma was referring to the handwritten application on the kitchen counter for Smallville High’s newspaper. The newspaper actually started halfway into the summer, so they could prepare for the upcoming school year.

“Mystery meat in the cafeteria is not exactly the hard-hitting journalism Lois does in Metropolis. She’s already making a real change. And I still haven’t submitted my application yet.”

“Lois would be proud of you, son,” Pa said. “That’s if journalism is what you want to do.”

“Well, it’s not like I can join the track team. I think it’s worth a shot,” Clark decided.

Besides, his journalism hero was always a text message away.

* * *

A couple of days later, after a tense negotiation with her sister that she could talk to Clark _tomorrow_ because _she really needed to talk to him now about big kid stuff_ , much to Lucy’s derision, Lois opened up the group chat with Alex and Clark.

 **SkepticGirl1:** _Alex. You, me, Clark. Worlds. Now._

 **TheInventor:** _Give me ten._

At precisely 9 minutes and 45 seconds later, Alex strolled casually into the virtual banquet hall of his private, modded _Worlds_ server. Alex’s castle was as luxurious as his real life Metropolis apartment. Lois could barely stop herself from tearing into him. "Black Canary. Why?"

"What's this about Black Canary?" Clark said, putting a hand on her shoulder. It didn't feel as good as the real thing, but it probably stopped her from ripping Alex apart.

"I couldn't figure out who would have the money and persistence to chase a rumor without directly getting involved. That's until I started tracing things back. You bought the record studio and put _Black Canary_ together. You chased after D.D. Why?"

"We can drop the pretense. Isn't this what _Strange Skies_ is about, finding the extraordinary hiding right under our noses? After seeing what Doctor Donovan accomplished, I knew there had to be others like them out there. I first saw the rumors on _Strange Skies_ and was curious. But laboratories and coercion? So cliché, so inefficient. With the band, I own _Dinah's_ masters. But it wasn't enough data, so the tour helped. Only, last night proved it was all a farce she was cooking up as a gimmick. And this tour was rather costly. I am afraid I'm out of the music business entirely after this."

"People aren't toys, Alex," Clark said. "We're all here because we are interested in the unexplained, but we have to be open and honest. You could’ve just asked her."

"Hmm, well. Real honesty, real trust is hard to come by in this world. But you’re right. Passivity isn’t working as well as I’ve hoped. Thank you for your counsel. A good day you both." And with that, Alex's character vanished.

"Well, that went about as well as it could've," Clark said.

Lois put her head on his virtual, green chest. “I’ve changed my mind, being on the sidelines is great. Remind me that the next time I offer to help out Maddy with a story, I should just get her coffee and cheer her on.”

“If you did that, you wouldn’t be Lois Lane.”

“Flatterer,” she said, glad Clark couldn’t see her blush. "Let’s head back to our server. I do believe we have a date.” With that, the elf maiden and the alien flew off into the virtual sunset.

* * *

Lois Lane was nervous.

Lois, who had questioned a mob boss without blinking, was picking at her fries while Devin told them about a mod he was making to his holoset.

Maddy shot her a questioning look, and Lois smiled back at her. It was not a convincing smile.

 _Get a grip, Lane. You can do this,_ Lois thought to herself.

“Lois, are you alright? You have not touched your food,” Anavi said.

“Yeah, which is weird, because grabbing burgers after our Scoop meeting was _your_ idea,” James said.

That was an understatement. Lois had practically pushed them all out of the Morgue to meet Anavi nearby retro diner.

“I’ve never seen you want to leave the _Planet_ so quickly without planning on chasing a lead,” Maddie joked, then her face turned serious. “Did your dad--are you moving?”

“No! No, not at all. Actually, the reason I wanted to this is because this is now officially the longest I have been at one school. I’ve never been able to y’know, hang out with friends during summer vacation.”

Maddy reached out and squeezed Lois’ hand. “Lois, we are so lucky to have a friend like you.”

The others nodded in agreement.

Devin, who was sitting closet to Lois, hugged her, and soon everyone got up and enveloped her in group hug.

“Sorry, do I need to get my ears checked? Did Lois just voluntarily talk about her feelings?” Devin asked after they broke apart and sat back down.

"For the first and last time this summer,” Lois muttered, discreetly wiping at her eyes. The big city was turning her into a sap. Or maybe that was just a byproduct of spending too much time with Clark.

“To friendship. To the Scoop!” James said, hoisting up his milkshake.

“To truth, justice, and sick guitar solos!” Maddy added. They clinked their glasses, laughing.

It was shaping up to be a pretty great summer.


End file.
